Thursday, October 18, 2012

Breaking the (Palestinian) Silence

Israel’s Christian
opponents have long contended that Palestinians, whether Christian or Muslim,
speak with one voice.Certainly many
Palestinian Christian leaders insist that relations between themselves and
their Muslim neighbours are cordial and that all Palestinians are united in
believing that their greatest problem is Israel, and their greatest enemies
(Jewish) Israeli.

To
listen to the favourite Palestinian Christians of, say, the Anglican, Methodist
or Quaker establishments one would think that all Palestinian Christians have
embraced a particularly Palestinian version of Liberation Theology, such as
that developed by Naim Ateek.In this
theological system, the God of the Old Testament is downgraded Marcion-style, His
covenant with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is airbrushed out and
– recalling the discredited Christian theology of deicide – today’s Jewish
state is re-cast as Herod or Pilate trying to crucify or murder a Jesus who has
become ‘the first Palestinian’.Ateek
and other members of his ‘Sabeel’ organisation command almost god-like respect
as they parade around Britain’s
cathedrals spouting their faulty theology.

Many
of us suspected that this romantic picture of bravery and harmony in the face
of brutal oppression concealed a much darker reality but it was hard to prove
as Palestinians largely kept silent.To
be sure, some clues couldn’t be missed – the murder of Bible Society employees
in Gaza, the sack of Bible Society and YMCA
property in the West Bank.In 2007 Aid to the Church in Need reported Fr
Nazaih, the long-time parish priest of Ramallah, the capital of the West Bank as saying, “…Little by little the Christians
leave because they cannot live with the Muslims. There are some fanatics who do
not like the fact that we exist.”More
recently, days after the ‘Christ at the Checkpoint’ conference where Christians
congratulated themselves and the Palestinian Authority on their mutual
tolerance and understanding in the face of their mutual enemy, Israel, a Bethlehem
Baptist church whose leadership teaches support for Israel as a Jewish homeland
was harassed
by the PA.

Other
Palestinians have been prepared to break the wall of silence created by fear of
persecution from family and government in order to expose the corruption, greed
and violence which forms the backdrop to daily life in the Territories.Khaled Abu Toameh has fearlessly exposed the
tissue of lies woven around the Palestinian myth of helpless victimhood.Corrupt Palestinian politics, the real
attitude of Palestinian
leaders towards a
2-state solution, the real reasons for the haemorrhage
of Christians from the Territories – nothing escapes his scrutiny.

Further
this gradual exposure of the darker side of the Palestinian story is one of the
most courageous women I have ever met, who spoke this week about her life as a
Christian Palestinian in the West Bank.Christy's life and family members have
been threatened because she has dared to break the conspiracy of silence that permits
too many Christians to retain a rose-coloured vision of life on the West Bank.

Christy
(name changed for obvious security reasons) grew up in the Bethlehem
region and describes living her early years in peaceful prosperity alongside
Jews, Christians and Muslims.Like many
Christians in the area, her family ran a business which served not only
Christian but alsoJewish pilgrims. The
2nd Intifada of 2000 destroyed all the peace and harmony she remembered.Her neighbourhood, became ‘Like a tomb’
rather than the peaceful vibrant place she had known.

A
nearby Jewish Holy Site became a target for Palestinian stone-throwers, so the
Israelis closed her road and built a base outside her home to protect Jewish
worshippers.The family business
closed. Most nights, snipers disturbed
the peace.Being in the centre of the
trouble, she and her family quickly learned to distinguish between the two
sides’ weapons, and Christy insisted that it was overwhelmingly Palestinians
who began the nightly shootings.In nearby
Beit Jala PLO snipers would choose Christian homes as bases to fire into the
windows of Jewish Gilo’s apartments just across the ravine; naturally Yasser
Arafat made full political capital when Israelis fired back at the snipers,
hitting Christians and their properties as he had planned.

Christy
had no reason to love Israelis either.The younger of two sisters who were her great friends, a beautiful 10 year
old girl, was killed by Israeli soldiers; 30 bullet wounds were found on her
body. On more than one occasion Christy was woken by Israeli soldiers pointing
guns at her when she did not wake up soon enough to be evacuated from her front
line house.The security wall surrounded
her house on three sides, making it difficult to get out to buy food.

Having
no idea of why all this was happening, Christy became angry and resentful.She had little idea of the history behind the
troubles between Israel
and the Palestinians.Brought up in a
culture of hatred of Israel
and her Jewish inhabitants, fed by anti-semitic ideas promulgated in so many
Palestinian churches, she could not begin to place her experience within any
wider context.

Tellingly,
Christy described how she was taught at school that Hitler killed ‘some Jews’ and
that Israel
used this as an excuse to persecute Palestinians.Shocked, I realised that this lie (albeit
usually veiled in more sophisticated terms) is routinely peddled by some UK
Christians from pulpits, in books and on internet blogsites.

Christy’s
life and outlook changed radically at the end of last year when a British
Christian staying in the West Bank said to her
at the end of a long conversation ‘you need your wings to fly’.Unlike so many Christians who go to the West
Bank only to affirm hatred of Israel amongst Palestinians, this Christian
talked about what the Bible - both Jewish and Christian - said about Israel and
her covenant-keeping God.Christy began
to do her own research into the concept of covenant and has moved from a
position of resentment towards Israel
and her Jewish citizens to awe at the restoration of Israel and what she views as its
miraculous survival through four wars of annihilation waged against her by Arab
neighbours.

Finally,
Christy obtained a permit to go to Israel for six months, and one of the
first things she did was to make a very painful visit to Yad Vashem, the
memorial to the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.She described her tears at the horrors portrayed
by the exhibition, commenting: ‘And we think we (Palestinians) have been
persecuted’- a point that those who
dare to compare the situation of Palestinians with Jews during the Nazi
Holocaust would do well to reflect upon.It was at this point that Christy began to experience something that
Jesus describes as central for true believers – forgiveness for her ‘enemies’,
the Israeli people.Now she felt she
could begin to understand why they reacted as they did.

Furthermore,
she understood why Israelis appeared uninterested in the particular plight of
Palestinian Christians, even though most do not want to be involved in armed
struggle against Israel.The Church in Europe
had been all but silent during the Holocaust.Why, she reasoned, would Israelis care about the peculiar plight of
Palestinian Christians now?

When
Christy began to share her new found insights with those around her, she
encountered a clamour of intimidation and threats aimed at silencing her.The death threats came even from her own
family.Nevertheless, having had her
eyes opened in one area, it wasn’t long before she was seeing other problems
about which Palestinians preferred to keep silent or blame on Israel.Christy reported that within her society it is
hard to apportion responsibility for economic and social woes to fellow
Palestinians; doing so would impugn the personal honour which takes
precedence above every other value within Arab society.Blaming Israel for Palestinian misery is so
much easier and safer.Meanwhile misery
continued as its root cause is not addressed.

After
Palestinian officials confiscated her permit to enter Israel (and one of her relatives put a gun to
her head), Christy applied for and obtained a visa to come to UK.She now lives with a Christian family who
treat her as their own daughter.However, she still has to protect her identity and location for security
reasons.For in the UK Christy has found
a country that uncritically accepts the false Palestinian narrative of helpless
innocence and victimhood in the face of a colonialist oppressor – and a country
in which the radical Islam which she recognises as the real cause of so much
Palestinian Christian suffering, has been allowed to embed itself.

Nevertheless,
Christy and her friends are determined that they will be heard.They have decided that speaking out truths
about the Middle East conflict is worth the
danger and the abuse that they now take as par for the course – along with the
admiration and support of many who have waited for years for the other story of
the conflict to emerge.

It
is a story well worth hearing, and a courage not to be missed.Christy will be speaking at Christian
conferences in York and Surrey
next month.Details can be found at www.hagoshrim.org.uk.

38 Comments:

I have never heard Israel ( the modern state) or Palestine mentioned from the pulpit. In prayers we are asked sometimes to pray for peace in the Middle East but no one has ever made a remotely political point, unless you count praying for peace a political point.

Andrew, what exactly is a "Jewess? A Jew is a Jew regardless of gender.

Like others, I've never heard expressions of hatred for Israel or for the Jews at Church or Mass.

I would like a little bit more detail on:

" ... this Christian talked about what the Bible - both Jewish and Christian - said about Israel and her covenant-keeping God ... (Christy) and has moved from a position of resentment towards Israel and her Jewish citizens to awe at the restoration of Israel and what she views as its miraculous survival through four wars of annihilation waged against her by Arab neighbours."

"It's propaganda unless the message is stated openly and honestly." Hmmm..Like your boundless statements on the joys and personal revelation of being RC perhaps?. "God's intervention to restore Israel? And His intention for Israel and the Jews being what?" Buy a ticket, attend and use that unbiased questioning intellect of yours to pose the question in person. Hear York's lovely this time of year."I am hoping the Anglican Friends of Israel might oblige and not a 'new' blogger." I laughed soo much a little bit of wee wee escaped!!!*Silent chuckle, for incontinence purposes*

Thank you for report Dr Cranmer.It's unbelievable that so many Western Church goers are ignorant of Scripture & swallow the replacement theology propaganda that is dished out liberally among them.Of course the persecution of fellow Christians in Islamic Countries is not reported too often in the Media but it doesn't need to much research to discover it.As the 'Arab spring' evolves perhaps more of the facts will be reported.God is not finished with Mankind yet, but we must grasp the fact that it's not about being 'Anti' anything or anyone, but being 'Pro' truth.If the Jewish people had not recorded the history & prophecies concerning the Messiah & they had been swallowed by the surrounding kingdoms of Egypt, Syria, Babylon etc & lost their faith.If successive persecutors had wiped them out as planned.If the promised Messiah had not come & opened the door of salvation to the whole human race, their would be NO Christian Church.As Christians, we owe the Jews a debt of gratitude.For sure they are a mixed bag of good & bad just like the rest of us but God hasn't finished with them, or us just yet.

Cranmers post clearly reads that she did her own research into the concept of covenant

I am question what the concept of covenant has to do with the State of Israel which is not anti Israel but pro British biased

I think you will find religious Jews like the Honourable Edwin Samuel Montagu who said “If a Jewish Englishman sets his eyes on the Mount of Olives and longs for the day when he will shake British soil from his shoes and go back to agricultural pursuits in Palestine ... he seemed to me to have acknowledged aims inconsistent with British Citizenship”

Salvation is in and through Jesus Christ....but this came by God through the Jews.

The original intention of God was to bless the World through the Jews.The Jews proved unfaithful and salvation was opened to the Gentiles.

Many within religion take this that God has 'finished' with the Jews but scripture says that He has not.(It is the basic teaching of Scripture that the when the majority falls from the faith and cannot/will not be reformed, God takes the remnant and starts over again) Zechariah 12:10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over ...

True, but it is already fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Why bother with stuff that is already superseded? Whatever was valuable in the Jewish religion for those who are not Jews was already incorporated into the fledgling Christian communities from the very beginning as can be read from the Acts of the Apostles. Since Christianity was meant for all men, it had to show that it had fulfilled the deepest yearnings of all the nations in Jesus Christ, as St Paul taught the pious Greeks by alluding to the "Unknown God". Otherwise, what does it matter to me as an Indian what some rabble-rousers and holy-rollers did in some corner of Palestine in the first century.

Ta for the link but yet again Ernst sees philosophical treatises from what RCC believes rather than from a solid biblical exegesis?!

"Is it dispensationalism (there's so many; which one?) with a touch of dual-covenant theology - or not? "

Dual-Coventant theology...What on earth are you talking about. I take it that Ernst' explanation about the Mosaic covenant being superseded by the New went straight over your beak? The Old was not superseded because it was imperfect but because WE cannot keep it..It is like a diagnostic tool used to tell you whats wrong with your car but cannot carry out the necessary work to correct the problems. We need a correcting mechanism called the Holy Spirit that accomplishes this, as the Great Mechanic or like having dust on the car which tells us it is in dire need of a clean but the dust cannot clean itself off, it just shows you the state of the cars appearance!! We are the problem NOT the Old Covenant hence why Jesus is a better etc etc, Do read Book of Hebrews, there's a clever bird!!! ;-P

A Dispensationalist eh. Well Jesus was a dispensationalist by His word!Jesus said;Luke 4:18-19"The Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because of this He has anointed Me to proclaim the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and new sight to the blind, to set at liberty those having been crushed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

He used the text below to declare who He was to His people and what He had come to achieve in this earthly mission as their Messiah!

Isa 61:1-2"The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is on Me; because Jehovah has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to preach the acceptable year of Jehovah (and) the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn-"

Can you spot what He did not say between the two and why He stopped and closed the Scriptures at that point if it is all continuous?

Matthew 23:37-39

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

alluded to in Hosea

Hosea 5:15

15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

This age closed but will be returned to when...verse 39. we are in whats called the Time of the Gentiles which will be closed 7 years after the Fullness of the Gentiles is brought into the Body of Christ.

Every ordinary Dispensationalist that Ernst is aware of believes that justification by grace through faith has been God’s program since the fall of man and by the supplying of a covering to Adam and Eve by the shedding of innocent blood onwards. The things alluded to of Christ are a memorial going forward and from the Millennium Kingdom looking back as a memorial TO THE FACT of Calvary.

You appear to confuse the Kingdom of God which is always referred in Scripture with 7's with the Kingdom from Heaven which is in 12's as Christ's earthly One thousand year rule from Jerusalem, where it is declared ALL shall know of the knowledge of God because He rules from King David's throne and the government (the stone that destroyed Nebuchadnezzar image in Daniel that grew to cover the whole earth) is finally upon His Shoulders as Promised and prophesied, before handing all over to the Father so that God may be All in All..It's a clue.

We disagree. We will never agree this side of the grave.~(The reason we disagree is based on your love of the Catechism over God's direct word in scripture which Ernst loves more than anything. Simples)

If I understood you I'd respond. I don't. (Dear fella, you are the one talking of dual-covenants, there are actually over several in the Holy Bible but Ernst presumed you meant that both are applicable whereas they are not. Mosaic was only ever FOR THE JEW. The New Covenant is defined as for all whoever you are or whatever creed, belief etc you have come from as Jesus is our High priest, not a descendant of Levi and the direct lineage of Aaron..All Inclusive!)

God Bless. " God Bless you back, my boy.

Ernsty

Ps

"The things alluded to of Christ are a memorial going forward and from the Millennium Kingdom looking back as a memorial TO THE FACT of Calvary."

John 8:56

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

How could he rejoice when he is dead in the grave and long before Jesus walked the earth. BY FAITH in something seen but unseen?

Genesis 22Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about....

But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Dear Bird

As having jewish blood in your lineage you of all people should know that the Jewish idea of prophecy is greatly different from Hellenistic..Ours is Prophecy is prediction fulfilled whereas Jewish is Prophecy is Pattern. Here Abraham saw and understood what was going to happen to another Father's Son over 2000 years later and believed and was glad.

When God swears He never changes EVER. He is IMMUTABLE.

"And God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sar’ai your wife, you shall not call her name Sar’ai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.’ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’ And Abraham said to God, ‘O that Ish’mael might live in thy sight!’ God said, ‘No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant WITH HIM as an everlasting covenant FOR HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM. As for Ish’mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.’"

You see, Isaac was never at risk as God had sworn to Abraham regarding Isaac and it came to pass. The incident was prophecy is Pattern for Abraham's sake so he could rejoice and believe as we can!! The problem is with our Hellenistic worldview but the Jewish is true and correct.

About His Grace:

Archbishop Cranmer takes as his inspiration the words of Sir Humphrey Appleby: ‘It’s interesting,’ he observes, ‘that nowadays politicians want to talk about moral issues, and bishops want to talk politics.’ It is the fusion of the two in public life, and the necessity for a wider understanding of their complex symbiosis, which leads His Grace to write on these very sensitive issues.

Cranmer's Law:

"It hath been found by experience that no matter how decent, intelligent or thoughtful the reasoning of a conservative may be, as an argument with a liberal is advanced, the probability of being accused of ‘bigotry’, ‘hatred’ or ‘intolerance’ approaches 1 (100%).”

Follow His Grace on

The cost of His Grace's conviction:

His Grace's bottom line:

Freedom of speech must be tolerated, and everyone living in the United Kingdom must accept that they may be insulted about their own beliefs, or indeed be offended, and that is something which they must simply endure, not least because some suffer fates far worse. Comments on articles are therefore unmoderated, but do not necessarily reflect the views of Cranmer. Comments that are off-topic, gratuitously offensive, libelous, or otherwise irritating, may be summarily deleted. However, the fact that particular comments remain on any thread does not constitute their endorsement by Cranmer; it may simply be that he considers them to be intelligent and erudite contributions to religio-political discourse...or not.

The Anglican Communion has no peculiar thought, practice, creed or confession of its own. It has only the Catholic Faith of the ancient Catholic Church, as preserved in the Catholic Creeds and maintained in the Catholic and Apostolic constitution of Christ's Church from the beginning.Dr Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1945-1961

British Conservatism's greatest:

The epithet of 'great' can be applied only to those who were defining leaders who successfully articulated and embodied the Conservatism of their age. They combined in their personal styles, priorities and policies, as Edmund Burke would say, 'a disposition to preserve' with an 'ability to improve'.

I am in politics because of the conflict between good and evil, and I believe that in the end good will triumph.Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS.(Prime Minister 1979-1990)

We have not overthrown the divine right of kings to fall down for the divine right of experts.Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC.(Prime Minister 1957-1963)

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.Sir Winston Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can).(Prime Minister 1940-1945, 1951-1955)

I am not struck so much by the diversity of testimony as by the many-sidedness of truth.Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC.(Prime Minister 1923-1924, 1924-1929, 1935-1937)

If you believe the doctors, nothing is wholesome; if you believe the theologians, nothing is innocent; if you believe the military, nothing is safe.Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC.(Prime Minister 1885-1886, 1886-1892, 1895-1902)

I am a Conservative to preserve all that is good in our constitution, a Radical to remove all that is bad. I seek to preserve property and to respect order, and I equally decry the appeal to the passions of the many or the prejudices of the few.Benjamin Disraeli KG, PC, FRS, Earl of Beaconsfield.(Prime Minister 1868, 1874-1880)

Public opinion is a compound of folly, weakness, prejudice, wrong feeling, right feeling, obstinacy, and newspaper paragraphs.Sir Robert Peel, Bt.(Prime Minister 1834-1835, 1841-1846)

I consider the right of election as a public trust, granted not for the benefit of the individual, but for the public good.Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.(Prime Minister 1812-1827)

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.The Rt Hon. William Pitt, the Younger.(Prime Minister 1783-1801, 1804-1806)